A civil suit in which the widow of a fallen Covington County deputy claims negligence contributed to her husband’s death is set for the October docket in the Circuit Court of Covington County.

According to Star-News archives, William Heath Kelley died on April 18, 2014, when responding to a single-vehicle wreck on Hwy. 55 South. Before he reached the accident, his patrol car hydroplaned and struck a vehicle traveling north. There was moderate to heavy rain that morning, newspaper records show.

Kelley’s widow, Anita Kelley, has filed a civil complaint against Wiregrass Construction Co. of Dothan, Ozark Safety Services of Montgomery, and Parker Grassing, Inc, of Opelika.

At the time of the wreck, the defendants were performing road construction work on Hwy. 55 on a project let by the Alabama Department of Transportation. In the suit, Mrs. Kelley states that the defendants’ work had created a condition allowing substantial amounts of water to accumulate on the roadway, creating an extremely dangerous hazard.

The suit alleges the defendants breached their duties by: “(a) failing to perform work in accordance with plans and specifications; (b) failing to address the hazard accumulation of water on the surface of the roadway; (c) failing to provide appropriate and adequate signage for the dangerous condition.”

The suit also alleges the defendants knew the conditions were dangerous and failed to report the same to ALDOT, as required by law.

Mrs. Kelley seeks compensatory and punitive damages to be determined by a jury. She is being represented by Wesley L. Laird of Opp and Frank M. Wilson of Montgomery.

Defense attorneys for Wiregrass Construction are Charles Winston Sheehan, William Lovard Lee IV, and William Wayne Nichols. Parking Grassing is represented by Frank Eady Bankston Jr. and Dennis Mitchell Henry.

Circuit Judge Ben Bowden is scheduled to hear the case.